‘8 Heads’ Will Have You Rolling

Try to imagine what kind of strange, twisted movie be called “8 Heads in a Duffel Bag.” No matter how weird your vision, you probably wouldn’t be prepared for the laughs in this film.

Like the irredeemable “Grosse Point Blank,” this movie is about a professional hitman. But “8 Heads in a Duffel Bag” is completely different. Many of its slapstick gags are blatant and hysterical. There isn’t very much realism in this movie, but the wacko humor makes up for it.

So you’re probably curious what “8 Heads in a Duffel Bag” is all about. Here we go: Joe Pesci plays a career criminal (maybe Mafioso, but probably not good enough) who is trying to deliver eight human heads to his boss as proof of the corresponding hits. But, as is the case in many Hollywood comedies, everything goes wrong.

Pesci plans to carry the heads on an airplane in order to make the delivery. He has a hard time storing the head-filled duffel in the overhead compartment, so he’s forced to check the bag with the rest of the luggage.

Later, when Pesci goes to the baggage claim to collect his cargo, he accidentally grabs the wrong bag and ends up with an identical duffel belonging to a vacationing medical student.

Pesci desperately searches for his duffel. Meanwhile, the unknowing head-holder travels to Mexico.

In pursuit of the missing heads, Pesci ends up in the student’s dormitory. David Spade plays the med student’s roommate. Pesci tortures Spade until he divulges everything he knows about the vacationing roommate.

Spade is also a medical student and decides to take Pesci to the university’s kryonics lab. It houses dozens of cadavers, giving Pesci the option of finding new heads to deliver to his boss.

The bizarre twists and insane plot in “8 Heads in a Duffel Bag” are milked to the limit.

Pesci is in top form, although this character is strangely similar to the mobster he played in “GoodFellas.” Few actors portray a nutcase as well as Pesci. His character and skill help make this a funny movie.

But David Spade steals the show. His role is similar to the comedy he did during his stint on “Saturday Night Live.” Spade’s humor fits this film perfectly.

“8 Heads in a Duffel Bag” is not a movie for the easily disgusted. Some of the gags involve dead bodies and other slightly objectionable jokes.

For fans of the Chevy Chase/Chris Farley style of comedy (in other words, comedy without style), only a good episode of “Saturday Night Live” gets any better than this.

Grade: B